Chrysler dropping Compass, Town and Country

May 29, 2012|By Michael Oneal | Tribune reporter

A True North edition of the Jeep Compass is on display at the Chicago Auto Show in February. (Terrence Antonio James/Tribune)

Chrysler Group's Belvidere plant will stop making the Jeep Compass crossover by 2014, according to trade press reports. The move is part of a switch in focus to the new Dodge Dart, which began production at the plant this month.

The plans are part of Chrysler Group Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne's efforts to focus the company's U.S. product line and eliminate duplication among models, according to Automobile Magazine, which also reported Tuesday that Chrysler plans to eliminate its Town and Country minivan, while retaining the less expensive Dodge Grand Caravan.

Marchionne visited the Belvidere plant May 24 to celebrate the first Dart off the line. The small sedan is near and dear to the CEO's heart since it is the first Chrysler automobile to be built on an architecture developed by its Italian sister company, Fiat. Marcionne made it clear in his speech to plant employees that the Dart represents Belvidere's future. The plant is adding a third shift to accommodate production of the Dart and is training 100 workers each week, Marchionne said. By the time production scales up in full later this year, the plant will employ 4,500 full time workers, he added.

Compass and the similar Jeep Patriot will continue to be built alongside the Dart through August 2014, according to Automotive News. But at that point, the plant will focus on the Dart platform and add models based on that architecture. Marchionne told plant employees that "there are a number of candidates to take the place of the Compass" but he was not specific and did not discuss the Patriot's future. Automobile Magazine has speculated that Chrysler will develop new Patriot and Compass models built on the Dart platform.

"The Dart is really a bellwether of how well Fiat and Chrysler can make this partnership work," Marchionne told the Belvidere workers. "This first child is the start of a big family that is going to grow."

Automotive News quoted Marchionne as saying that Chrysler is developing an SRT version of the Dart. "The only thing we're fighting over now is to determine how big an engine we stick in it," he said.

Racing enthusiasts requested a high-performance version before the Dart was revealed in January, Automotive News said. Chrysler hasn't had a four-cylinder vehicle in its SRT lineup since it dropped the Dodge Caliber SRT4 in 2009.

The exit of the Town and Country will mean that Chrysler, which invented the minivan, will be left with only the Grand Caravan. Automobile Magazine quoted Marchionne as saying that the Town and Country will be replaced with an upscale crossover.

In a statement Chrysler said, "We haven't wavered from our five-year cycle plan for our two minivans. This doesn't call for a change until 2014 and includes both Grand Caravan and Town & Country."